By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
There was much screaming around here when Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury fished four pucks out of his net March 4 before being pulled against the New York Rangers in his first game after the Olympic break. More than a few people called for backup Brent Johnson. They always seem to call for No. 2 after Fleury has a bad game.
But now? With Fleury playing good hockey again? The way he always plays at this time of year with the playoffs approaching?
Silence.
Wonderful silence.
Maybe Pittsburgh -- all of Pittsburgh -- finally realizes what a special goaltender it has.
Or maybe not.
Really, this city can be brutal when it comes to its goaltender.
"I wouldn't know about that," Fleury said the other day, grinning as always. "When I first got here, I read all the papers. I wanted to know what people thought of me. Not now. I know what I do wrong. I know when I make a mistake. I don't need someone else to tell me. I don't read the papers or look at the television at all."
Generally, that's a good thing.
Remember that fabulous quote from Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt?
"Philadelphia is the only city where you can experience the thrill of victory and the agony of reading about it the next day."
Beautiful.
But that's not so much the case when it comes to Fleury. It's not the media that get on his back. They realize his extraordinary value to a team that won the Stanley Cup last season and went to the final the season before. It's a significant portion of the fan base that gives him a hard time.
I can't figure it out.
I mean, I understand how it's just as easy to blame the goaltender for a couple of goals as it is to chastise the quarterback after a couple of interceptions. Many people don't see a Sidney Crosby turnover or a Sergei Gonchar defensive lapse. But everyone sees Fleury angrily retrieving the puck from the back of his net.
I also realize that Fleury's statistics aren't among the NHL leaders.
Going into the games Tuesday night, he ranked 17th among goaltenders with at least 40 starts in save percentage (.907) and 15th in goals-against average (2.65) despite going 3-1 in his past four starts and allowing just eight goals on 106 shots. Even he says of his numbers, "Oh, my god, I wish I could be up there higher."
But Fleury is smart enough to realize that his game is about more than mere statistics. He's still just 25, but he has grown a lot during his six seasons with the Penguins.
"A lot of playing goalie is in your head," Fleury said. "When I don't play well, I feel like I let my teammates down. It ticks me off, you know? But, when I can make the key saves to keep my team in the game, I'm happy."
That happened enough the past two springs that the Penguins were able to win seven of eight playoff series, prompting general manager Ray Shero to gush about Fleury, "You show me a young goaltender that's done what he's done at his age." It's hard to forget Fleury's great saves on the way to the Cup last season. The toe save on Philadelphia's Jeff Carter in the third period of Game 2. The save on a breakaway by Washington's Alex Ovechkin early in Game 7. The save in traffic to rob Carolina's Eric Staal late in Game 1. The sprawling save on Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom in the final seconds of Game 7.
Two things really stand out about Fleury during that Cup run:
• One, his unbreakable confidence after the Red Wings won the first two games of the final. "Nothing is over yet!" he said boldly and, as it turned out, quite profoundly.
• And two, his ability to bounce back quickly from a bad game. He was benched in the second period of the 5-0 loss to the Red Wings in Game 5 only to win Games 6 and 7 by 2-1 scores, stopping 48 of 50 shots.
That's why Fleury's awful performance against the Rangers 13 days ago -- he was beaten for the four goals on just 12 shots -- hardly seemed troubling despite the rather loud elevator music from his critics. As the third-string goaltender on Canada's gold medal-winning Olympic team, he didn't play and hardly practiced for 2 1/2 weeks. There was no question that one bad game wasn't going to get him down. He came back to do his part to beat Dallas, 6-3, two days later, then to beat Boston, 2-1, the day after that. He has been playing lights out since.
"Maybe for a night, I beat myself up after a bad one," Fleury said. "But the next day, I always try to come to the rink in a good mood. I work hard in practice, have fun with the guys and get ready for the next game."
Sounds like a plan to me.
Certainly, it has worked well for Fleury.
The elevator music no longer bothers him.
I'm thinking it should just stop.
Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan. More articles by this author
First published on March 17, 2010 at 1:12 am
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